Term 2 2011

United States of Matter


Assessment

The goal is to assess the skills as well as the content. There are different ways to assess. Students could do drawings and/or writing. Students could do a spoken test. Students could use the camera on the Mac and go into the Deputy's office and record their understandings. Then the post test could be what they have learned and then the 2 digital files can be compared at the end. There are two theories about post assessment. 1) is that the post test is exactly the same; 2) that the processes are the same and the content is different. The big picture thing is to be able to look at the Mess Scene Investigation (Change Detectives) and be able to give a report. They have to show everything they have learned throught the investigation.

Rationale

Why are you teaching it? So when you are testing you can find out what they know. They make decisions every day on gases, solids and liquids. For example, what happens if you put a frozen juice box in their lunch box? What will happen if you put your hand over a boiling kettle? Ask the questions and get the students to answer to get them to understand why it is important to learn about it?

Differentiation

Are there questions written in to the unit to extend students? Are there pathways for students who need to move on? Something to take them a step further. Something to make connections and predictions. Why is it important to use a fair test? It takes them to a different level but everything is the same. It takes them to a different level. For others you might get them to write out the steps of a fair test. Same lesson (idea) and different levels. You are extending their thinking because you have asked them to think about it in a completely different way.

Teaching and Learning

Teaching the content for them to understand the skills.
  • Pose a question
  • Make predictions
  • The ability to hypothesise
  • Structure and plan a fair test (including choosing appropriate equipment)
  • Conduct a fair test
  • Describe patterns
  • To draw conclusions
  • Reflect on methods that they have used

You might choose 4 of these to be the focus. The others might come up but the others are the ones you focus on.

The most important thing with the 5E's model is they EXPLORE before you EXPLAIN. Where it links the 5Es links more to content but to understand the content you need to learn the process. You explain the process in relation to the content you are teaching. This really underpins everything else.

Unit Planner

Add contributing questions box at the top underneath rationale.

Annotate Work Samples

Work samples are annotated back to the achievement standards. It relates back, it might be more elaborated, but it relates back to the achievement standard. The work samples can be found on the web.